Drag Racing Story of the Day!

Swimming at the Pond in the Sixties

By Billy Scott

We had just won Top Gas the previous night at Lions. John Rasmussen and I
were laying on the beach down at Hermosa. It was about 10:30 a.m. Ras looked
over at me and said, "Do you want to go to the pond and take their
150?" (Meaning they were paying 150 to win Top Gas.) We had just won
500 the night before. I looked at my watch and said we had better haul ass
because qualifications ended at noon! Well we ran back to the house, which
was only one block from the beach. Backed the Chrysler Hemi powered pickup
to the trailer, which still had the car on it from Saturday night.

We arrived with only minutes to spare -- I didn't have time to change
out of my swimming trunks! I just pulled on my jacket, helmet, and gloves
and went to the starting line with my trunks and flip-flop shoes. I
qualified with Low ET and Top Speed on gas! Came back, put it back in line
for eliminations, and got back in the car still with my trunks and
flip-flops on. Raced one car for the 150 bucks. Put the car back on the
trailer, collected the money, and was back on the beach by 2:30 p.m. If that's
not fun, I don't know what is!